Pre-assembled bath room unit



Oct. 6, 1959 T. GOULD PRE-ASSEMBLED BATHROOM UNIT INVENTOR.

QKmSA W wmmm Filed June 28, 1957 ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1959 T. GOULD2,907,048

PRE-ASSEMBLED BATH -ROOM UNIT Filed June 28, 1957 2 Sheets-:Sheet 2 [Ill20 COLD IZ, 63 7 m w INVENTOR- 38 lg 0 l0! 1/9 AT TOR NE Y5PRE-ASSEMBLED BATH. ROOM UNIT Thelma Gould, New York, N.Y.

Application June 28, 1957, Serial No. 668,689

Claims. (Cl. 42)

This invention relates to complete bathroom units and more especially toa pre-assembled unit which can be placed in any room to provide a showerwith seat for submerged bath, wash basin, medicine chest and Watercloset facilities. The unit is designed to conserve space.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved compactbathroom unit which can be pre-assembled at the factory and moved intoan apartment or home with no additional work necessary except to connectthe unit with water supply pipes and with a waste pipe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compact bathroom unitincluding a shower stall with a high enough sill to enable the showerstall to be used as a bathtub, and with a wash basin and water closetattached to the outside of one Wall of the shower stall, and preferablyto a double wall in which all of the pipe connections are enclosed.Features of the construction reduce the amount of piping so that boththe cost and weight of the unit are low. In accordance with one featureof the construction, space is saved and the unit made more compact bylocating the wash basin above the water closet and providing meanswhereby the basin can be folded out of the way. A folding seat coversthe Water closet, when not in use the construction and appearance beingsimilar to the covers provided in roomettes and drawing rooms of Pullmancars for hiding the water closet.

This invention can be used in apartments and private homes to provideadditional bathroom facilities, and in single rooms of hotels orboarding and rooming houses which do not have private baths. It isespecially useful for providing bathroom facilities in older dwellingswhich are converted to apartments, and many other existing buildingswhere additional bathroom facilities would be provided if it werepossible to do so at moderate cost.

The unit can be made of various materials, such as porcelain andstainless steel to obtain a lasting and attractive appearance.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all the views;

Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a compact bathroom unit made inaccordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view taken on the plane 2-2 of Figure 1, and withthe wash basin in'its lowered position ready for use;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the bathroom unit shown inFigure 1; and

Figure 4 is a piping diagram for the bathroom unit shown in the otherviews.

Figure 1 shows a bathroom unit having a shower stall 10, a wash basin 11and a water closet 12. For small 2,907,048 Patented 6, 1959 ice units aurinal may be considered the equivalent of a" water closet. There is adoorway 14, in the front wall of the shower stall 10, through whichpersons may enter and leave the shower. There are hand rails 15 on bothsides of the doorway on both the inside and outside of the wall forgreater convenience getting into and out of the shower stall. Thisdoorway is closed by a' shower curtain 16 when the shower is in use.There is a'sill' 18 at the bottom of the doorway 14. This sill is pref.-erably as high as a low bath tub so that the shower can be filled withsufficient water to serve as a bath tub when desired. Special modelswith a water-tight door instead of the sill 18 can be made for use byhandicapped persons, the door being the full length of the doorway 14,or as high as desired. There are steps 19' on the wall for use, ifdesired, in stepping over the sill 18. These are preferably shaped'tofit a foot or bathing shoe, and these steps can be folded up against thesill when not in use.

The interior of the shower stall is shown in Figure- 3 A shower head 20is connected by a ball and socket joint 21 to a shower head supply 'pipe22 which extends through a sidewall 24 of the shower stall. There is abuilt-in seat 26 in one corner of the shower stall, prefer ably arecessed or grooved seat, and there is a hand rail 28 attached to theother sidewall 30. Additional hand rails can be provided if desired.

The shower stall has a bottom 32 which is elevated above the level of afloor 34 on which the unit is intended to be supported. The bottom 32'slopestoward the side wall 24 and toward a back wall 36 to a drainoutlet 38 located in one corner of the shower stall, as best shown inFigure 2. This location of the showerdrain reduces the amount of pipingwithin the unit. A stopper is used to close this drain when the unit isto be filled with water for use as a bath tub. I

The shower stall has a top wall 40; This top wall and the bottom 32,together with the front and back and side walls of the shower stall arepreferably constructed as an integral unit, welded orotherwise-securedtogether for maximum strength and light weight. Oneside Wall of the unit is double to enclose a hollow cham her in whichall of the piping is concentrated. This double wall' enclosing thechamber comprises the side wall 24 of the shower stall and an outer wall44 parallel to but spaced from the shower stall wall 24. The chamberbetween the walls 24 and 44 is indicated by the ref erence character 46.

The shower head supply pipe 22 extends downwardly within the chamber 46and connects with a mixing valve 48.

Cold water is supplied to the mixing valve 48 through a cold water valve51 operated by a handle 52 which extends through the wall 24 and intothe shower stall. Hot water is supplied to the mixing valve 48 through ahot water valve 54 operated by a handle 56 in the shower stall. Eventhough the hot and cold water valves 51 and 54 are open to supply waterto the mixing valve 48, water to the shower head can be cut off by ashut off valve 58 located in the chamber 46 above the mixing valve 48and operated by a handle of valve 58 extending through the side wall ofthe shower stall. The mixing valve 48 also supplieswater to a spigot 60for filling the unit with water when used as a bath tub, and a hose andshampoo attachment 62 can be connected to the spigot 60. The hose ispreferably a flexible metal hose of stainless steel, and otherfittingsof the unit are preferably made of stainless steel also. v V 7,

.The wash basin 11 is attached to the outsidew'all 44 by hingeconnections 71. This 'wash basin is of the folding type such as used. onPullman car's amt. en

ships. When folded upward into the dotted line position shown in Figure3, the contents of the wash basin 11 run out of the back of the basininto a funnel 73 which connects-with a wastepipe. There are cold and hotwater faucets 76 and 77 respectively, located above the wash basinll'when the basin is in its lowered position, and these faucets arecovered by the wash basin when it is inits folded position.

The pipes which supply water to the faucets 76 and 77 are preferably inline with the corresponding supply pipes for the cold and hot watervalves 51 and 54, respectively. The valve 51 and faucet 76 connect witha common fitting 78 to which a main cold water supply pipe 79 isconnected. In like manner, the valve 54 and faucet 77 are connected witha common fitting 80 to which a main hot water supply pipe 81 isconnected. These main supply pipes 79 and 81 lead downwardly to thelower back corner of the unit where they project out from the wall 44for connection with water supply pipes or tubes led to the room in whichthe bathroom unit is to be used.- These two pipes 79 and 81 supply allof the water to all of the valves and fittings in the unit.

The water closet 12 is of the wall-supported type, being connected tothe wall 44. Flush water for the water closet 12 is supplied from a tank85 located in the charm ber 46 between the walls 24 and 44. The watercloset is connected with this tank 85 by a pipe 87 leading downwardlywithin the chamber 46 and then outwardly to the upper part of the bowlof the water closet 12. The flush tank 85 is of conventionalconstruction with a float 89 (Figure 4) operating a valve 91 whichcontrols the entrance of water into the flush tank 87 from a pipe 93connected to the fitting 78. This fitting 78 is the one that connectsthe valve 54 and the faucet 77 with the main cold water supply pipe. Theoutlet valve to supply water from the flush tank 85 to the water closetis controlled by a handle 97 located in front of the wall 44 andoperating in the same manner as on the conventional flush tanks.

In the preferred construction, the compact bathroom unit of thisinvention is also equipped with a spray 101 supplied with water througha mixing chamber and from a cold water valve 103 and a hot water valve104. These valves are adjusted to obtain the desired water temperature,and the spray 101 is located in the water closet 12 and directedupwardly for washing the lower part of the body. The spray is supportedfor pivot movement about a vertical axis and can be swung out of the waywhen not in use. The valve 103 is connected by pipe or tubing with thefitting 78 in the cold water supply line; and the valve 106 is connectedwith the fitting 80 which connects valve 51 and faucet 76 with the mainhot water supply line 79.

A seat 108 is supported from the wall 44 and extends forwardly over thewater closet 12. There are side walls 110 around the toilet bowl andthese may be stainless steel sheet material such as the shower stall ismade of, so that the water closet is hidden from view when the seat 108is down. This seat also provides a support on which small children cankneel or stand to use the wash basin 11; and the seat 108 can be swungupwardly on hinges 111 to leave the space above the water closetunobstructed when desired.

, A waste pipe 115 from the water closet 12 is enclosed within the lowerpart of the chamber 46 and leads to the lower back corner of the unitwhere it turns and 7 ing any necessary repairs.

4 tank 85, is utilized as storage space and is shown with a medicinecabinet 120. This cabinet 120 includes shelves 121; and there is a door123 hinged to the wall 44 over an opening through which access may behad to the interior of the medicine cabinet 120.

Most of the front wall 44 is removable, and it includes panels 124connected to the fixed parts of the wall by screws 126 which arerepresentative of detachable fastening means for holding the removablepanels of the walls in assembled relation with the rest of the unit. Byremoving these panel portions of the wall, access may be had to theinterior of the chamber 46 for mak- The medicine cabinet 120, beinglocated above the flush tank 85, is connected to the upper removablepanel 124 so that the medicine cabinet is removed as a unit with thepanel when necessary to gain access to the flush tank 85.

If the unit is placed in living room or studio, an ornamental concavedoor (opaque glass and wrought iron) can be afiixed to the unit or tothe wall of the room and can be swung into position to enclose theentire unit.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, but changes and modifications can be made, and some featurescan be used in different combinations without departing from theinvention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A pre-assembled bathroom unit for installation in a room,,said unitcomprising a shower stall having side walls and a bottom, a wash basinsupported from a wall of the shower stall on the opposite side of thewall from the shower stall, a water closet located outside of the showerstall and secured in fixed relation to the outside of a wall of thestall, and means for supplying water to the shower stall, the basin andwater closet including a common supply pipe and connecting piping andfittings carried by said stall.

2. The bathroom unit described in claim 1 and in which one wall of theshower stall is a double wall and the water closet extends outwardlyfrom the side of the wall opposite the shower stall, the water closethaving its discharge outlet opening into said double wall and otherconnecting piping and fittings for the shower and water closet enclosedin the double wall extending through the inner and outer surfaces,respectively, of said double wall.

3. The bathroom unit described in claim 2 and in which the double wallhas a thickness less than the height of the water closet, and said wallencloses a compartment and the connecting piping and fittings arelocated in the lower part of the compartment, and there is a flush tankfor the water closet in said compartment above the connecting piping andfittings and extending across most of the thickness of the double wall,shelves in the compartment above the flush tank, and a door on the outerside of the wall in position to provide access to the shelves fromoutside the shower stall for storage purposes.

comes forwardly through the wall 44 for connection drain pipe119-connects the shower drain 38 with the basin drain 117.

The upper part of the chamber 46 above the flush 4. .The bathroom unitdescribed in claim 2 and in which the basin is a folding basin with hotand cold water faucets projecting from thedouble wall at 10- cationsabove that occupied by the basin when the basin is in its operativeposition, the basin being located on the wall above the water closetandextending outwardly over the .water closet when the basin is initsoperative position, the basin having a hinged connection to the wall andabout which said basin swings upwardly into a position covering thefaucets and out of the space directly over the water closet, showerfaucets on the side of the wall opposite the basin faucets, directconnections through the double wall between corresponding faucets of thebasin and shower, and a water supply pipe communicatingwith each of saidconnections at a location intermediate said corresponding faucets.

5. A pre-assembled bathroom unit for installation in a room, said unitcomprising a shower stall having a bottom and side walls, a wash basinsupported on a side wall of said stall and on the opposite side of saidwall from the shower stall, a water closet adjacent to the outside ofthe wall of the shower stall having the basin thereon, a cover thatextends over the top and down the front and sides of the water closet toconceal the water closet from view, a hinge connection between the coverand said wall below the level of the basin, and on which the coverswings upwardly against said wall and back from the water closet, toleave unobstructed space above the water closet,

6. The pre-assembled bathroom unit described in claim 5 and in which onewall of the shower stall is a double wall enclosing a space therein, andboth the wash basin and the water closet are carried by the double walland extend outwardly therefrom, and there are a waste pipe and a flushtank for the water closet also enclosed within the double wall, a commonwater supply pipe with fittings and connections, to the shower stall,wash basin, and flush tank, also enclosed within the double wall.

7. The pre-assembled bathroom unit described in claim 6 and in whichthere are faucets in the shower stall, other faucets over the wash basinhaving direct connections through the double wall to the shower stallfaucets, water supply lines communicating with the connections betweenthe shower stall and basin faucets, a shower head in the stall, a mixingchamber for the shower head and to which water is supplied by thefaucets in the shower stall, a water connection on the outside of thedouble wall near thewater closet, piping through which water from saidsupply lines is supplied to said water connection, a spray within thewater closet connected to said water connection, manually-operated valvemeans for controlling flow of water from said water connection to saidspray, the water supply lines of the unit extending through the doublewall to a bottom corner of the unit for connection with water pipes at awall of a room in which the unit is to be installed, a common waste pipefrom the water closet, shower stall and wash basin and also extendingthrough the double wall to a bottom corner of the unit, a flush tankwithin the double wall, a medicine cabinet in the double wall above theflush tank, and a panel forming a part of the outside of the doublewall, said panel being removable for access to the flush tank and pipingin the wall and the cabinet being carried by said panel and removablefrom the wall as a unit with the panel.

8. A pre-assembled bathroom unit for installation in a room, said unitincluding a shower stall having a double wall, a wash basin supportedfrom the side of the wall opposite the shower stall, shower fittings onthe other side of the wall within the shower stall, faucets over thewash basin and connected directly through said wall with the showerfittings, water supply piping communicating with the direct connectionsat locations intermediate the faucets and the shower fittings, one ofthe faucets comprising a hot water faucet and the other a cold Waterfaucet, and the piping commum'cating with said connections comprisinghot and cold water supply piping.

9. A pre-assembled bathroom unit for installation in a room, said unitincluding a shower stall having a bottom and side walls, a sprayattachment in the shower stall on one side wall thereof, a water closetoutside of the shower stall and attached to the outside of the same wallas the spray attachment, another spray attachment adjacent to theoutside of the shower stall and adjacent to the water closet, hot andcold water supply valves and a mixer for each spray attachment, andcommon supply means for the hot and cold water for both sprayattachments.

10. A pre-assembled bathroom unit comprising a shower stall having abottom and having side walls, one of which is a double wall, a watercloset secured to the double wall at a fixed location thereon, a flushtank for the water closet located in the double wall, a storage cabinetin the wall immediately above the upper end of the flush tank, thecovering of the wall above the basin being detachable from the wall andthe cabinet being carried by the removable covering so that the cabinetis withdrawn from the wall to provide access to the interior of theflush tank.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,076,403 Geerlings Apr. 6, 1937 2,084,793 Denison June 22, 19372,396,992 Evans Mar. 19, 1946 2,552,546 Fergusson May 15, 1951 FOREIGNPATENTS 746,427 France Mar. 7, 1933

